# Martyrdom of St Andrew [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [DOLCI, Carlo]() - Date: 1601-1650 - Technique: Oil on canvas, 122 x 99 cm ## Commentary Carlo Dolci painted three versions of the martyrdom of St Andrew, who was crucified in Patras and, according to hagiography, was tied - and not nailed - to a cross, with his arms placed diagonally so as not to look like the sacrifice of Jesus in any way. The scene, inspired by the Golden Legend by Jacopo da Varazze, illustrates the moment immediately before the crucifixion, when the saint is being stripped while his executioners set out the wooden poles to which he will be tied. Dolci translates the excited, crowded action into stories of emotional truth, which we can read in the expressions of the saint, of his executioners, and of the remaining bystanders, many of whom are genuine portraits. In the background, in the group bystanders watching the event, there are two outstanding figures, framed within the arc defined by the legs of the youth in a hat, shown in the foreground. One of these, wearing a red hat, faithfully copies the <a onclick="return OpenOther\('/html/t/tiziano/10/21/04redcap.html'\)" href="/html/t/tiziano/10/21/04redcap.html">Portrait of a Man in a Red Cap</a> by Titian, now in the Frick Collection, a painting evidently familiar to Dolci, although for reasons of which we are unaware. There are several known versions and copies of the painting. ## Related artworks - [Guardian Angel Tutoring the Christian Child]() - [Magdalene]() - [Moses]() - [Portrait of Ainolfo de' Bardi \(detail\)]() - [Portrait of Ainolfo de' Bardi]() - [Portrait of Vittoria della Rovere in Widow's Weeds]() - [Saint Jerome in Prayer]() - [Salome with the Head of St John the Baptist]() - [Self-Portrait]() - [St Catherine]() - [St Catherine Reading a Book]() - [St Cecilia at the Organ]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()